66854-1920-Treaty-of-Peace-Austria-Order-1920 — Page 8

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THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, NOVEMBER 12, 1920.

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If a contract provides for a fixed rate of exchange governing the conver- sion of the currency in which the debt is stated into the currency of the Allied or Associated country concerned, then the above provisions concerning the rate of exchange shall not apply.

In the case of the new States of Poland and the Czecho-Slovak State, the currency in which and the rate of exchange at which debts shall be paid or credited shall be determined by the Reparation Commission provided for in Part VIII. unless they shall have been previously settled by agreement between the States interested;

(e) The provisions of this Article and of the Annex hereto shall not apply as between Austria, on the one hand, and any one of the Allied and Associated Powers, their colonies or protectorates, or any one of the British Dominions or India, on the other hand, unless within a period of one month from the deposit. of the ratification of the present Treaty by the Power in question, or of the ratification on behalf of such Dominion or of India, notice to that effect is given to Austria by the Government of such Allied or Associated Power or of such Dominion or of India as the case may be ;

(f) The Allied and Associated Powers which have adopted this Article and the Annex hereto may agree between themselves to apply them to their respective nationals established in their territory so far as regards matters between their nationals and Austrian nationals. In this case the payments made by applica- tion of this provision will be subject to arrangements between the Allied and Associated Clearing Offices concerned.

ANNEX.

1. Each of the High Contracting Parties will, within three months from the notification provided for in Article 248, paragraph (c), establish a Clearing Office for the collection and payment of enemy debts.

Local Clearing Offices may be established for any particular portion of the territories of the High Contracting Parties. Such local Clearing Offices may perform all the functions of a central Clearing Office in their respective districts, except that all transactions with the Clearing Office in the Opposing State must be effected through the central Clearing Office.

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2. In this Annex the pecuniary obligations referred to in the first paragraph of Article 248 are described as *C

enemy debts," the persons from whom the same are due as enemy debtors," the persons to whom they are due as "enemy creditors," the Clearing Office in the country of the creditor is called the "Creditor Clearing Office," and the Clearing Office in the country of the debtor is called the "Debtor Clearing Office."

3. The High Contracting Parties will subject contraventions of paragraph (a) of Acticle 248 to the same penalties as are at present provided by their legislation for trading with the enemy. They will similarly prohibit within their territory all legal process relating to payment of enemy debts, except in accordance with the provisions of this Annex.

4. The Government guarantee specified in paragraph (b) of Article 248 shall take effect whenever, for any reason, a debt shall not be recoverable, except in a case where at the date of the outbreak of war the debt was barred by the laws of prescription in force in the country of the debtor or where the debtor was at that time in a state of bankruptcy or failure or had given formal indication of insolvency, or where the debt was due by a com- pany whose business has been liquidated under emergency legislation during the war. such case the procedure specified by this Annex shall apply to payment of the dividends.

The terms bankruptcy" and "failure" refer to the application of legislation provid- ing for such juridical conditions. The expression "formal indication of insolvency bears the same meaning as it has in English law.

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5. Creditors shall give notice to the Creditor Clearing Office within six months of its establishment of debts due to them, and shall furnish the Clearing Office with any documents and information required of them.

The High Contracting Parties will take all suitable measures to trace and punish collu- sion between enemy creditors and debtors. The Clearing Offices will communicate to one another any evidence and information which might help the discovery and punishment of such collusion.